Introduction

Welcoming Remarks
Vincent Pan, CAA Executive Director
Sandra Fewer, San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner

Peer Leader Story

Keynote
Eric Mar, San Francisco Board of Supervisor

Presentation of Certificates
Jenny Lam, CAA Director of Community Initiatives

2012 Slideshow Presentation & Insight

Closing- Next Steps
Jessica Wan, CAA Community Advocate

Together We Are Committed to Advancing Equal Opportunity

Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (UT). The Court will consider a challenge to the constitutionality of UT’s consideration of race as one factor in a holistic, individualized review of about 25 percent of its undergraduate applicants’ admissions profiles.

Two years ago when the Fisher case was before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice), whose members are Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), Asian American Institute (AAI) and Asian Law Caucus (ALC), filed an amicus, or friend-of-the court, brief to support UT’s admissions policy.

We support affirmative action and diversity programs in admissions because we stand by the promise of integrated and equal public education set out in Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared legal racial segregation in public education to be unconstitutional. Continuing the positive legacy of that seminal case, consideration of race in admissions programs addresses the need to level the playing field across all levels of education.

We still need affirmative action and diversity programs because racial segregation and discrimination continue to impede access to educational opportunity in this country today. Many of our K-12 schools are more segregated today than they were 40 years ago. Our schools are still separate and unequal in funding, class size, number of AP classes, and teacher turnover and experience. This segregation and inequality affects not only African Americans and Latinos, but many underrepresented Asian American subgroups and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI). Asian Americans and NHPIs graduate from high school at lower rates than non-Hispanic whites, and disparities in high school and post-secondary graduation statistics are particularly stark for some ethnic groups like Hmong, Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans, whose educational attainment rates are similar to those of Latinos and African Americans. Far from being “race-neutral,” universities’ sole use of criteria like grades and test scores has been shown to unfairly capture and exacerbate those racial inequalities. The reality of race must be taken into account to ensure equal access to our public universities.

Advancing Justice also believes that a truly integrated and diverse learning environment enhances students’ educational experiences and better prepares them for success in our increasingly multi-racial society.

Given the racial discrimination that persists against people of color, including Asian Americans and NHPIs, in many arenas, race-conscious strategies are fundamental to ensuring equal opportunity and access in all sectors of our diverse society.

We further believe that students of all races will benefit from an expansion – instead of shrinking – of the public higher education system. UCLA, which does not consider race as a factor in admissions, received more than 91,000 applications for approximately 5,400 spaces in the incoming fall 2012 class. The lack of adequate resources for higher education is the primary, underlying cause that many qualified applicants – including Asian Americans and NHPIs –are denied admission. It is this issue of expanding higher education resources that should be the focus of those who care about educational opportunity for Asian Americans and NHPIs

This summer, we will work together—and with you—to reaffirm our support for UT’s consideration of race as one of many factors in its admissions decisions by filing an amicus brief before the Supreme Court.

Advancing Justice is not alone in its support of affirmative action. The Asian American Legal Defense Fund (AALDEF) also released a statement, as did the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), affirming their commitment to affirmative action and diversity policies.

In addition, Sissy Trinh, executive director of the Southeast Asian Community Alliance which works with high school students in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, stated, “Southeast Asian American students often face barriers to higher education. Taking into account the entirety of an applicant’s background and life experiences, including race, is important to ensure fair access to educational opportunities for Southeast Asians and other communities.”

With your support, Advancing Justice can strengthen its work to ensure equal opportunity for all Asian American and NHPI communities. To help us continue the fight to protect important policies like the one at UT, please consider making your tax-deductible donation to your Advancing Justice affiliate, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, today and help us continue the fight to protect important policies like the one at UT.

These photos were taken from January through April 2012 and show various parts of the campus under construction. The campus is substantially complete, meaning the exterior construction is done and the focus is now on interior finishing work: painting, carpeting, polishing, troubleshooting, moving in furniture, and final cleanup. The new campus is expected to be open for classes in fall 2012. Once open, it will serve an estimated 7,500 students each semester with credit and non-credit classes focusing on continuing education, ESL, citizenship, and vocational classes in hospitality, health care, and the culinary arts – essential skills for immigrant students.

GENERAL INFO | VENUE | KEYNOTE SPEAKER | HONOREES | MC
TICKETS | SPONSORSHIPS | HOST COMMITTEE | MORE INFO

GENERAL INFO
The Celebration of Justice is CAA’s largest annual fundraiser and brings together community leaders, activists, corporate supporters, and friends for a night of celebration and renewing our commitment to social justice. Over 500 guests attend the Celebration of Justice each year, including prominent leaders in the Asian & Pacific Islander, civil rights, and political communities. Each year, we honor key civic and community leaders, as well as present speakers who are diverse in disciplines and perspectives.

The 2012 Celebration of Justice will be held on Thursday, June 7. The reception will begin at 6:00pm followed by the dinner and program at 7:00pm.

VENUE
The 2012 Celebration of Justice will be held at the Empress of China, one of the oldest and most esteemed restaurants in San Francisco Chinatown. The Grand Ballroom, where our event will be held, features panoramic views of San Francisco in a setting reminiscent of China’s imperial palaces. The Empress of China is located on 838 Grant Avenue (Google map). empressofchinasf.com PARKING: Garage parking is available a few blocks away at Portsmouth Square Garage on Kearny Street (Google map).

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Jeff Yang is a leading thinker and writer on popular culture, race, identity, and the evolving Asian American experience. He currently authors the “Tao Jones” column in the Wall Street Journal. He has written for a wide range of publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Village Voice, Vibe, and SPIN.

HONOREES

Kiran Ahuja for her vision of grassroots empowerment and social justice and for being in the vanguard in improving the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, women, and immigrants.

Chancellor Don Q. Griffin for his fierce commitment to education for all and his resilient leadership on behalf of City College of San Francisco and its permanent Chinatown/North Beach campus.

Linda Wang for her lifelong community activism for affordable housing, senior services, and educational equity, most recently as a co-chair of Friends of Educational Opportunities in Chinatown.

National Domestic Workers Alliance for their groundbreaking work in organizing and leading domestic workers nationwide to gain respect, dignity, and labor protections.

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

Alan Wang is an Emmy award-winning journalist who covers general assignment news and anchors ABC7′s weekend newscasts. His coverage includes national stories, but he is most proud of the stories he covers on a local level that address community issues, raise awareness, and spark positive change.

TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now! To purchase tickets, please register here.

SPONSORSHIPS
Support CAA’s community work and bring visibility to your organization. To learn about full sponsorship benefits please download our Sponsorship Form (PDF). To purchase sponsorship packages online, please fill out our registration form. For questions, contact Phuong Quach, Senior Development Manager, at 415-274-6760 x319 or pquach[at]caasf[dot]org.

Thank you to our sponsors:

CHAMPION OF JUSTICE | $12,000

PATRON OF JUSTICE | $8,000

DEFENDER OF JUSTICE | $6,000
Ricky Ho
Laura Lai
Emily Lee
Frances and Frankie Lee
Rolland and Kathy Lowe
Germaine Q Wong

ADVOCATE OF JUSTICE | $4,000
Henry and Priscilla Der
EHDD Architecture
Kaiser Permanente
Northern California Carpenters Regional Council
Stella and Dick Wong

GUARDIAN OF JUSTICE | $2,500
Bank of the Orient
Chevron Corporation
FHL Bank SF
May and Larry Jew
Jones Day
Keker & Van Nest
Minami Tamaki LLP
Mock/Wallace Architects
Vincent Pan
Portsmouth Plaza Parking Corporation
Recology
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

SUPPORTER OF JUSTICE | $2,000

HOST COMMITTEE
Co-Chairs: Mayor Jean Quan and Floyd Huen, Francisco Ugarte, Frances Lee
Diane Chin
Henry and Priscilla Der
Heather J. Fong
Paul Fong
Emily and Ricky Ho
May and Larry Jew
Laura Lai
Emily Lee
Olivia Lee
Darlene and Raymond Lim
Rolland and Kathy Lowe
Becki Masaki
Masood Ordikhani
Steve C. Owyang and Onilda Cheung
Ed Steinman
Alex Tom
Theodore Wang
Bill Wong
Eddy Zheng

MORE INFO
If you have questions, please contact Phuong Quach at 415-274-6760 x319 or pquach[at]caasf[dot]org. You can also see information from last year’s Celebration of Justice.

Image from the new Brightline Defense Project report "Putting Local Hire to Work" showing CAA Executive Director Vincent Pan leading efforts for stronger local hire policy reform.

Our community partner, Brightline Defense Project, just published a new report documenting the years of advocacy and coalition building that led to our city’s local hiring policy for construction. Titled “Putting Local Hire To Work”, it features a narrative and policy background of the advocates, workers, labor leaders, and policy makers that came together to develop and pass the City’s landmark local hiring law. Check it out and get up to date on the first stages of implementation for this groundbreaking policy!

New Brightline Report: Putting Local Hire to Work (PDF)

Congratulations to CAA co-founder and board co-chair Germaine Q Wong for being honored as an “Amazing San Francisco Woman” at this year’s Women’s History Month ceremony! She’s been fighting for justice and making waves for the past 40+ years. We joined Germaine in celebrating her achievements at City Hall where Supervisor David Chiu (who selected her for this award in District 3) praised her community service and legacy. Here’s a brief bio of Germaine that was published in World Journal:

(Translated by CAA staff)
Eighteen outstanding women representing achievements and contributions in various areas were honored in  San Francisco City Hall on March 6th. The honorees included former San Francisco Registrar of Voters and co-founder of Chinese for Affirmative Action Germaine Wong.

March 8 is International Women’s Day this year, and the San Francisco city government, in honor of Women’s Day, recognized 18 outstanding women. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and 11 Supervisors recognized outstanding women in the 11 districts.

On behalf of the Chinatown / North Beach area, Supervisor David Chiu nominated Germaine Wong. Chiu respectfully called Wong a “superhero” and praised her for her over 40 years of community service in his district.

Wong is currently board co-chair of Chinese for Affirmative Action. Forty-three years ago she co-founded the organization with four other people. CAA came out of the thriving U.S. civil rights movement in 1969 to fight for equal rights for the Chinese community.

In addition to the services provided to CAA and many other Chinatown service organizations, Wong has career excellence. In the 1980s she was the first minority to lead as Registrar of Voters in San Francisco, and in her term of office she persuaded the Department of Elections to provide multilingual services to voters. Wong also served as an assistant city government administrative officer.

In her early years, Wong was a former UC Berkeley director of the Asian American Studies department. She successfully fought for UC Berkeley to make Asian American Studies an undergraduate degree, and introduced a number of foreign language courses in Chinese, Japanese, and Philippine.

What: Infinite San Francisco: Chinatown
When: Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 12 PM – 2:30 PM
Where: The University of San Francisco campus, McLaren 250

Chinatown Event Panelists:

• Kevin Chun, Professor of Psychology and Co-Founder of Asian American Studies, USF
• Rev. Norman Fong, Deputy Director, Chinatown Community Development Center
• Jenny Lam, Director of Community Initiatives, Chinese for Affirmative Action
• Sue Lee, Executive Director, Chinese Historical Society of America
• Carlos Serrano-Quan, Executive Director, Chinese Newcomers Service Center

Moderator: Dawn Lee-Tu, Director of Cultural Centers, USF

Cosponsored by the Asian American Studies Program and The Center for the Pacific Rim.

More on the event website

First Name Basis (3/10, 3/15 – 101 MIN) – Tickets and Showtimes
This collection of heartfelt and compelling films explores the complexity of self. Be a firsthand witness to the journeys of these characters—including Pacific Island female rugby players, Kolkata boxers, young b-boys, and Filipino overseas workers—as they let you in on their most kept secrets and intimate lives.

Roots and Reality (3/11, 3/14 – 84 MIN) – Tickets and Showtimes
Reality can be far more fascinating than any fiction, as these documentary shorts make abundantly clear. Learn from an Indonesian choreographer, students in an academy for the deaf, six proud Sikh men, a master Lisu musician, and a window washer in Shanghai, and expand your horizons.

(The entire film festival runs from March 8-18.)